Gear shift devices can have an H-shaped shift pattern and an automatic return of the gear shift lever, e.g. into the shift path of the gears 3/4 for 4-, 5- and six speed transmission, when the shift lever is placed in the neutral position. The shifting into a speed outside of the predetermined path requires of the driver, in addition of the movement of the gear shift lever in the direction of the gear preferentially in the direction of forward or reverse drive to evert pressure transverse to the direction of vehicle movement, e.g. into shift path 1/2 to the left and into shift path 5 or 5/6 to the right. These devices have proven themselves in 4- and 5- speed transmissions because they make it easy for the driver to find the correct shift path and the correct gear without forcing him to observe the position of the gear shift lever optically.
These arrangements have been successful with gear shift devices including transfer boxes with a double-H-shift pattern, where the return of the gear shift lever in the lower range, gears 1 to 4, occurs into the shift path of the gears 3/4 and after switching of the transfer box into the higher range of gears 5 to 8 into the shift path of the gears 5/6, and are a great relief for the driver.
In the case of 6-speed transmissions which are realized without transfer boxes, especially upon downshifting from the sixth gear, misshifts can easily occur when the driver, instead of engaging the 5th speed, engages the 3rd speed due to the return of the gear shift lever into the shift path of gears 3/4.
Such mistakes can lead to severe damage in the motor and the transmission at excessive speeds.